The present invention relates to a differential gear housing supporting apparatus for a vehicle and more specifically to such a supporting apparatus for a housing and axle which is pivotal about the fore-and-aft axis of the drive shaft.
Certain vehicles have axles and differential housings which may oscillate about an axis of the vehicle drive shaft. In such cases, the differential housing is pivotally supported from vehicle frame members at opposite ends of the housing.
Such supports must also permit a certain amount of axial free-play movement of the differential housing between the two pivot supports. In one known design, this free play is determined by the number of shims placed between one of the pivot support brackets and wear plates which are positioned adjacent to the differential housing. This pivot support assembly includes a central pivot pin which is inserted through the support bracket, the shims, the wear plates and into a pivot bushing which is inserted into an end of the differential housing. With such a support assembly, the number of shims can be adjusted only by installing the entire axle and differential, measuring the free play, removing the entire axle and differential, adding or subtracting the correct number of shims, and then reinstalling the axle and differential housing.
In another known design, axial thrust is taken up by a disc which is received by the pivot support and held in place by a cover which is bolted to the pivot support. This design requires that the pivot support to be larger than what is needed merely to carry the load. Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a pivot support assembly which is compact and which permits simple free play adjustment without removal of the axle and housing.